A Dark History

It was hours later, or so the pain felt. Astrid was shaking with agony in the beginning, but in the end, she remained quite still and silent. She could hear Hayden calling her from far, and was wondering what was going to happen to her.

She was mumbling names when she suddenly woke up with a start. She jumped up at once to see Hayden still muttering healing spells on her. When he saw her awake, he blew a sigh of relief and smiled at Astrid.

"Thank god! That fire seemed to have affected you," He sighed as he stopped muttering words and hugged Astrid tightly. "How are you?" He asked.

Astrid peppered him with questions, endless questions it was as if she didn't know where to end. "Where are we?" She asked, and she looked around to find her answer. They were in a hut made out of wood branches and twigs.

"Well, after you passed out, I tried to battle to fire on my own. It didn't work ("I mean, it's very advanced fire spells," Hayden shrugged), but I managed to make a safe bubble around us. You still got a cut. When we got across, I searched for something to make a hut. And I found some wood in your bag," He replied, pulling a pillow out of his backpack and leaning it on her head. Astrid smiled.

"You were amazing, you are," She sighed, laying her head on the pillow Hayden gave her. It was quite comfy.

Hayden smiled, but his smile faded when he brought up what Astrid wanted to know most. "Well, I guess we had bad luck, the person escaped,"

Astrid lowered her head onto the ground as a prickle of shame fell across her face. Hayden didn't sound like he was accusing her of passing out, but it couldn't help but make her feel ashamed. She would have preferred him to feel that way because his disappointment has and is her worst weakness.

"It's okay, that person can't be a lot ahead of us! We need to pass a few more stages, however, " He smiled patiently. Astrid nodded and walked over to the hut's opening. She crawled out of it, looking forward. There were three doors in front of them. She stared at them helplessly.

She crawled back into the hut and looked at Hayden, who was shredding crystal balls into a bowl and hadn't noticed her leaving or entering.

"Hayden?"

He looked up from his knife and smiled slightly at Astrid. "Yes?" He asked as he focused his eyes back onto his shredding. Astrid gulped. She always had this feeling of stupidity when she was around Hayden. That's just how you feel when you're around a walking book.

"Well, I went out, and well...there are three doors, but I don't know which one we go through. Can you help me figure it out?"

Hayden looked up from his knife again and nodded. "Of course! But it's late tonight, maybe we can go tomorrow," He replied as he walked over to her sleeping bag and rested a bowl of crystal soup on the mat's side.

"Thank you," She replied, spooning some of it into her mouth. She looked over at Hayden to see him curled up in an armchair with a book on his side. "What book is it?"

"Darkhollow's Darkest Truths And Secrets," He said, still looking down at the book. Astrid's heart gave a leap. Could they find something in there about their mission?

"Can you read me one of the chapters?" She asked, trying to control her excitement. Hayden looked up at her and smiled. "Sure, how about...Darkhollow, a history,"

The title gave Astrid a leap of excitement. "That sounds interesting," She nodded. She watched as Hayden walked over to her and sat beside her on his mat.

"A thousand years from now, people were settling into the town of Agraban-" Hayden began but was shortly interrupted by Astrid.

"Agraba- what?" She asked. The name was giving her a chill of curiosity. Hayden laughed at this and launched into an explanation. "It's the city nearest to Darkhollow,"

"Oh...okay, go on," She mumbled as she licked her lips after finishing her bowl of crystal balls. He smiled at this and continued.

"The town was very famous, as it was home to the famous falcon jewel," He continued, Astrid's heart gave another leap. Anything related to Darkhollow could help.

"The falcon jewel had magical abilities, and was able to block the owner from harm, had healing powers, and could produce five wishes for anyone who takes it," He said, and Astrid was now livid with energy. "Wow...well, that jewel sounds legendary,"

Hayden laughed and closed the book with a shut. He squashed it into his over-filled bag and zipped his backpack up. When he finished, Astrid started speaking again. "That must be what we're trying to save! We need to take it before the culprit steals it to ruin Agraban,"

Hayden nodded impressively. Then his smile was faltered as he looked into her eyes. Astrid knew Hayden too well to forget this look. It always meant he was slightly confused but had ideas at the same time.

"Why would the photograph of them be helpful?" He frowned. Astrid suddenly jumped. She had nearly forgotten about the photographs after narrowly escaping being burnt to death.

"Yes, it's weird," She frowned as well as he walked over to her and pulled covers out of his bag. He laid them on top of Astrid and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"We'll find out...tomorrow," He said, as stared at the ceiling of the hut in wonder. She smiled back at him and nodded.

"Tomorrow."